Purdue's Robbie Hummel 'starting to feel explosive again'

Thursday

Oct 27, 2011 at 12:01 AMOct 27, 2011 at 2:21 PM

As soon as Purdue forward Robbie Hummel landed awkwardly on his right knee on the first day of college basketball practice last fall, he didn't need a doctor to tell him it was bad news. Hummel just glanced at coach Matt Painter.

John Supinie

ROSEMONT -- As soon as Purdue forward Robbie Hummel landed awkwardly on his right knee on the first day of college basketball practice last fall, he didn't need a doctor to tell him it was bad news. Hummel just glanced at coach Matt Painter.

"I gave him the look that I hurt it pretty seriously again,'' said Hummel, the versatile fifth-year senior who was named to the Big Ten's preseason all-conference team in balloting released Thursday at the league's media day.

Two knee injuries. Two surgeries. It's been a hard two years for Hummel and Purdue basketball.

Hummel first injured the knee as a junior on Feb. 24, 2010, at Minnesota. When he tore the ACL, the Boilermakers were ranked No. 3 in the AP poll.

Without him, the Boilermakers tied for the Big Ten title but lost in the conference tournament semifinals and failed to get past the NCAA Tournament regional semifinals. Last season, Purdue hoped to reach the Final Four with Hummel, guard E'Twaun Moore and center JaJuan Johnson.

Without Hummel, the Boilermakers couldn't get past the NCAA's first weekend after a 17-point loss to Virginia Commonwealth. TV cameras eventually found Hummel, who couldn't hold back the tears.

Johnson and Moore were drafted by the Boston Celtics. Hummel is left to finish his Purdue career, graduate and hopefully, he said, remind NBA scouts he can play. He also considers what might have been with his two closest friends.

"It's something you can't dwell on,'' Hummel said. "At the same time, it will be something I'll live with the rest of my life.''

Hummel already made it farther than his first attempt at a return. He was medically cleared just days before the knee injury last year. After that second ACL surgery, he was cleared in August and went through individual workouts earlier this fall and felt his game return.

"The first time, I never really had a chance to get back to that point,'' he said. "This time, I'm so much further ahead.

"We had a scrimmage a few days ago. It went as well as I could have hoped. I'm moving around good. I'm starting to feel explosive again for the first time in a long time. It's good to be in a competitive environment.''

He'll wear a knee brace that looks more common for offensive linemen, and Hummel takes every other day off just as "a precaution to limit the pounding,'' he said.

Former Decatur Eisenhower star Lewis Jackson, guard Ryne Smith and forward D.J. Byrd return as starters. Known for making the extra pass, Hummel might need to be more selfish this winter. He averaged 15.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals as a junior. Hummel was a first-team all-Big Ten pick as a junior and freshman.

"A lot of times when you have guys that have success and they're out for a little while, I think it gets a little mythical, like they had a cape when they played before,'' Painter said. "He makes other people around him better. You could stand him out there with crutches, and you could still help your team win.

"(Hummel's game) changes in terms of he was a guy we had always played through. He's such a selfless guy. And he's always going to make the extra pass and make that next play. He's got to make sure that now that next play is better for Purdue instead of maybe being a little bit what some people would call selfish in terms of maybe taking that uncontested shot.''

Hummel gets one last shot to play at Purdue, but it comes without Johnson and Moore.

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